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Fighting for Justice, Protecting Youth

The criminal legal system disproportionately impacts young people—especially youth of color and those from marginalized communities. That’s why we’re excited to share the upcoming MIDC Inaugural Youth Defense Conference, a critical gathering to address youth defense, wrongful convictions, and the urgent need for quality legal representation.

This event, hosted by the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission, will feature powerful insights from exonerees Eric Anderson and Kenneth Nixon, both members of MIDC, who will share their experiences and highlight the systemic failures that lead to wrongful convictions—and what we can do to fix them.

Why This Conference Matters

This first-of-its-kind event will bring together legal professionals, advocates, and community members to discuss:

✅ The realities of youth defense and how the system often fails young people
✅ Firsthand accounts of wrongful convictions and their lifelong impact
✅ Strategies for strengthening public defense and ensuring access to quality representation
✅ Opportunities for action to advocate for a more just legal system

When young people are caught in the legal system, the consequences are severe, long-lasting, and often unjust. This conference is an opportunity to learn, engage, and take action in the fight for a fair and equitable youth defense system.